<p>R Umanath, a veteran leader of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), passed away at the age of 92 on Wednesday at a private hospital in Trichy following a prolonged illness.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Umanath is survived by two daughters – U Vasuki, a CPM state unit member, and U Nirmala Rani.<br /><br />He was an active member of the CPM’s politburo between 1991 and 2008 and also served as party secretariat and a member of the Tamil Nadu state committee for several years. Umanath joined the communist party in 1939, when he was still a student at Annamalai University. He quit his studies to become a full-fledged party member.<br /><br />During India’s independence struggle, he was convicted in the Madras Conspiracy case and imprisoned for two-and-a-half years. In his lifetime, Umanath spent a total of nine-and-a-half years in jail, and went underground for seven years.<br /><br />He was firmly opposed to the LTTE and the creation of a separate “Eelam” (homeland) for Tamils in Sri Lanka.<br /><br />A powerful speaker in both Tamil and English, Umanath was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962 and 1967. He was also a two-time member of the Tamil Nadu Assembly.<br /><br />As one of the founding members of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Umanath was instrumental in building the trade union movement in Tamil Nadu. He was the national vice-president of the CITU till 2010.<br /><br />Various political leaders in the state, including DMK president M Karunanidhi, MDMK leader Vaiko and PMK founder-leader Ramadoss, condoled the death of the CPM veteran.<br /></p>
<p>R Umanath, a veteran leader of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPM), passed away at the age of 92 on Wednesday at a private hospital in Trichy following a prolonged illness.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Umanath is survived by two daughters – U Vasuki, a CPM state unit member, and U Nirmala Rani.<br /><br />He was an active member of the CPM’s politburo between 1991 and 2008 and also served as party secretariat and a member of the Tamil Nadu state committee for several years. Umanath joined the communist party in 1939, when he was still a student at Annamalai University. He quit his studies to become a full-fledged party member.<br /><br />During India’s independence struggle, he was convicted in the Madras Conspiracy case and imprisoned for two-and-a-half years. In his lifetime, Umanath spent a total of nine-and-a-half years in jail, and went underground for seven years.<br /><br />He was firmly opposed to the LTTE and the creation of a separate “Eelam” (homeland) for Tamils in Sri Lanka.<br /><br />A powerful speaker in both Tamil and English, Umanath was elected to the Lok Sabha in 1962 and 1967. He was also a two-time member of the Tamil Nadu Assembly.<br /><br />As one of the founding members of Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU), Umanath was instrumental in building the trade union movement in Tamil Nadu. He was the national vice-president of the CITU till 2010.<br /><br />Various political leaders in the state, including DMK president M Karunanidhi, MDMK leader Vaiko and PMK founder-leader Ramadoss, condoled the death of the CPM veteran.<br /></p>
